Consulta: creatorFacets:"Palmer,   Karen L."
Registros recuperados: 29
Data/hora: 16/06/2024 17:06:45

Allocation of CO2 Emissions Allowances in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Program
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Kahn,   Danny.
Cap-and-trade programs for air emissions have become the widely accepted, preferred approach to cost-effective pollution reduction. One of the important design questions in a trading program is how to initially distribute the emissions allowances. Under the Acid Rain program created by Title IV of the Clean Air Act, most emissions allowances were distributed to current emitters on the basis of a historic measure of electricity generation in an approach known as grandfathering. Recent proposals have suggested two alternative approaches: allocation according to a formula that is updated over time according to some performance metric in a recent year (the share of electricity generation or something else) and auctioning allowances to the highest bidders....
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Allowance allocations; Electricity; Air pollution; Auction; Grandfathering; Generation performance standard; Output-based allocation; Cost-effectiveness; Greenhouse gases; Climate change; Global warming; Carbon dioxide; Sulfur dioxide; Nitrogen oxides; Mercury; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q25; Q4; L94.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10650

Restructuring and the Cost of Reducing NOx Emissions in Electricity Generation
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Burtraw,   Dallas; Bharvirkar,   Ranjit; Paul,   Anthony.
We look at the effects of restructuring on three issues: (a) economic surplus and environmental quality, (b) the cost of NOx control policies and who bears the costs, and (c) the cost-effectiveness of a seasonal and an annual NOx cap in the SIP Call region. We find that without the NOx cap, nationwide restructuring leads to higher NOx and carbon emissions from the electricity sector. Adding either a seasonal or an annual NOx cap-and-trade regime in the eastern United States mitigates the increase in NOx emissions but has a much smaller effect on carbon emissions. The out-of-pocket compliance cost associated with achieving a seasonal or an annual NOx cap is moderately higher with nationwide restructuring than without, but the changes in economic surplus are...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Electricity; Restructuring; Deregulation; Competition; Emissions trading; Particulates; Nitrogen oxides; NOx; Health benefits; Cost effectiveness; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q4.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10549

Upstream Pollution, Downstream Waste Disposal, and the Design of Comprehensive Environmental Policies
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Walls,   Margaret; Palmer,   Karen L.
Many environmentalists and policymakers are shifting their focus from media-specific pollution problems to product-specific, life-cycle environmental problems. In this paper, we develop a model of production and consumption that incorporates life-cycle environmental externalities-specifically, an upstream manufacturing byproduct, air or water pollution from manufacturing, and downstream solid waste disposal. We then use the model to derive optimal government policies to address all three externalities. We assume throughout that a Pigovian tax on waste disposal is precluded because of the potential for illegal dumping. We then examine four cases: one in which Pigovian taxes on the upstream externalities are feasible, one in which such taxes are infeasible,...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Life-cycle externalities; Solid waste; Deposit-refund; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q28.
Ano: 2000
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10837

Implementing Electricity Restructuring: Policies, Potholes, and Prospects
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Brennan,   Timothy J.; Palmer,   Karen L.; Martinez,   Salvador A.
Electricity is one of the last U.S. industries in which competition is replacing regulation. We briefly review the technology for producing and delivering power, the history of electricity policy, and recent state and international experience. We then outline the major questions facing policymakers as they decide whether, when, and how to implement restructuring. We conclude with some thoughts on the California electricity crisis and other political controversies. Although the California experience has come to define what it means for electricity markets to fail, most of the problems it raised are among those we know how to solve or prevent. The still unresolved make-or-break issue remains whether the cooperation necessary to maintain reliability is...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Electricity restructuring; Regulation; Deregulation; Public Economics; L51; L94; D4.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10508

The Environmental Impacts of Electricity Restructuring: Looking Back and Looking Forward
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Burtraw,   Dallas.
In the mid-1990s, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was preparing to release Order 888 requiring open access to the transmission grid, the commission, environmental groups, and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others, raised the question of how open access and greater competition in wholesale electricity markets might affect the environment. If open access worked as expected, underutilized older coal-fired generators in the Midwest and elsewhere might find new markets for their power, leading to associated increases in air pollution emissions. Restructuring also might lead to retirements of inefficient nuclear facilities, whose generation would be replaced by fossil generation, further increasing emissions. On the other hand, some...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Electricity; Electric utilities; Regulation; Competition; Environment; Air pollution; Natural gas; Coal; Nuclear; Renewables; Customer choice; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; L51; L94; L98.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10656

Extended Product Responsibility: An Economic Assessment of Alternative Policies
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Walls,   Margaret.
Extended Product Responsibility embodies the notion that agents along a product chain should share responsibility for the life-cycle environmental impacts of the product, including those associated with ultimate disposal. Extended Producer Responsibility is a narrower concept which places responsibility on producers and focuses primarily on post-consumer waste disposal. Manufacturer "take-back" requirements are the policy lever most often associated with Extended Producer Responsibility. In this paper, we discuss alternative incentive-based policies that are consistent with the objectives of Extended Product and Producer Responsibility. We argue that an upstream combined product tax and recycling subsidy (UCTS) is generally more cost-effective and imposes...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Solid waste; Extended product responsibility; Recycling; Unit pricing; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; H2.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10830

The Effect of Allowance Allocation on the Cost of Carbon Emission Trading
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Bharvirkar,   Ranjit; Paul,   Anthony.
We investigate the cost-effectiveness and distributional effects of a revenue-raising auction, grandfathering, and a generation performance standard as alternative approaches for distributing carbon emission allowances in the electricity sector. We solve a detailed national electricity market model and find the auction is roughly one-half the societal cost of the other approaches. This result holds under a variety of assumptions about the future state of economic regulation and competition in the electricity sector. The differences in the cost of the approaches flow from the effect of each approach on electricity price. Grandfathering is the best for producers but it imposes a substantial cost on consumers. The generation performance standard yields the...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Carbon; Emission allowance trading; Allowance allocations; Electricity; Restructuring; Air pollution; Safety valve; Auction; Grandfathering; Generation performance standard; Output-based allocation; Cost-effectiveness; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q25; Q4; L94.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10536

The Paparazzi Take a Look at a Living Legend: The SO2 Cap-and-Trade Program for Power Plants in the United States
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.
For years economists have urged policymakers to use market-based approaches such as cap-and-trade programs or emission taxes to control pollution. The SO2 allowance market created by Title IV of the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) presents the first real test of the wisdom of economists' advice. This paper provides an overview of the origins, design, and performance of the U.S. acid rain program, and an analysis of its specific features and its adaptability as a model for addressing other pollution problems, such as control of NOX or CO2 emissions. The program also has resulted in innovation through changes in organizational technology, in the organization of markets, and through experimentation at individual boilers, much of which arguably would...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Emission trading; Cap and trade; Air pollution; Cost-benefit analysis; Electricity; Particulates; Sulfur dioxide; SO2; Health benefits; Acid rain; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q4; D62; Q28.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10665

Reducing Emissions from the Electricity Sector: The Costs and Benefits Nationwide and in the Empire State
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Burtraw,   Dallas; Shih,   Jhih-Shyang.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10484

Cost-Effective Reduction of NOx Emissions from Electricity Generation
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Bharvirkar,   Ranjit; Paul,   Anthony.
This paper analyzes the benefits and costs of policies to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions from electricity generation in the United States. Because emissions of NOX contribute to the high concentration of atmospheric ozone in the eastern states that is associated with health hazards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called on eastern states to formulate state implementation plans (SIPs) for reducing NOX emissions. Our analysis considers three NOX reduction scenarios: a summer seasonal cap in the eastern states covered by EPA's NOX SIP Call, an annual cap in the same SIP Call region, and a national annual cap. All scenarios allow for emissions trading. Although EPA's current policy is to implement a seasonal cap in the SIP Call...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Electricity; Particulates; Nitrogen oxides; NOx; Health benefits; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q4.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10677

The Determinants of Household Recycling: A Material Specific Analysis of Recycling Program Features and Unit Pricing
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Jenkins,   Robin R.; Martinez,   Salvador A.; Palmer,   Karen L.; Podolsky,   Michael J.
This paper examines the impact of two popular solid waste programs on the percent recycled of several different materials found in the residential solid waste stream. We examine a unique, national, household-level data set containing information on the percent recycled of five different materials: glass bottles, plastic bottles, aluminum, newspaper, and yard waste. We find that access to curbside recycling has a significant and substantial positive effect on the percentage recycled of all five materials and that the level of this effect varies across different materials. The length of the recycling program's life has a significant and positive effect on two of the five materials and a mandatory recycling requirement does not affect any materials. The level...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Solid waste; Recycling; Unit pricing; Incentives; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q28; H31.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10798

Getting on the Map: The Political Economy of State-Level Electricity Restructuring
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Ando,   Amy Whritenour; Palmer,   Karen L.
Retail competition in electricity markets is expected to lead to more efficient electricity supply, lower electricity prices, more innovation by suppliers and a greater variety of electric power service packages. However, only a handful of states have currently gone so far as to pass legislation and/or make regulatory decisions to establish retail wheeling. This paper analyzes a variety of factors that may influence the rate at which legislators and regulators move towards establishing retail competition. In general, we find that where one interest group dominates others in the struggle for influence over the decision makers, the net effect seems to push a state forward more quickly when retail wheeling is expected to yield large efficiency gains.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Electricity restructuring; Deregulation; Political economy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; D78; L51; L94.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10643

The Effect on Asset Values of the Allocation of Carbon Dioxide Emission Allowances
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Bharvirkar,   Ranjit; Paul,   Anthony.
Paradoxically, owners of existing generation assets may be better off paying for carbon dioxide emission allowances than having them distributed for free. This analysis shows that it takes just 7.5% of the revenue raised under an auction to preserve the asset values of existing generators.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Carbon dioxide; Emission allowance trading; Allocation; Electricity; Restructuring; Air pollution; Auction; Grandfathering; Generation performance standard; Outputbased allocation; Cost-effectiveness; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q25; Q4; L94.
Ano: 2002
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10705

Ancillary Benefits of Reduced Air Pollution in the United States from Moderate Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies in the Electricity Sector
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Krupnick,   Alan J.; Palmer,   Karen L.; Paul,   Anthony; Toman,   Michael; Bloyd,   Cary.
This paper considers how moderate actions to slow atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel use also could reduce conventional air pollutants in the United States. The benefits that result would be "ancillary" to greenhouse gas abatement. Moreover, the benefits would tend to accrue locally and in the near term, while benefits from reduced climate change mostly accrue globally and over a time frame of several decades or longer. The previous literature suggests that changes in nitrogen oxides (NOx) would be the most important consequence of moderate carbon policies. We calculate these changes in a detailed electricity model linked to an integrated assessment framework to value changes in human health. A tax of $25 per metric ton of carbon...
Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation
Palavras-chave: Climate change; Greenhouse gas; Ancillary benefits; Air pollution; Co-control benefits; Nitrogen oxides; Sulfur dioxide; Carbon dioxide; Particulates; Health; Environmental Economics and Policy; H23; I18; Q48.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10664

Efficient Emission Fees in the U.S. Electricity Sector
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Banzhaf,   H. Spencer; Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.
This paper provides new estimates of efficient emission fees for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions in the U.S. electricity sector. The estimates are obtained by coupling a detailed simulation model of the U.S. electricity markets with an integrated assessment model that links changes in emissions with atmospheric transport, environmental endpoints, and valuation of impacts. Efficient fees are found by comparing incremental benefits with emission fee levels. National quantity caps that are equivalent to these fees also are computed, and found to approximate caps under consideration in the current multi-pollutant debate in the U.S. Congress and the recent proposals from the Bush administration for the electricity industry. We also...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Emission fees; Air pollution; Cost-benefit analysis; Electricity; Particulates; Nitrogen oxides; NOx; Sulfur dioxide; SO2; Health benefits; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q4; D61.
Ano: 2002
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10505

Sulfur Dioxide Control by Electric Utilities: What Are the Gains from Trade?
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Carlson,   Curtis; Burtraw,   Dallas; Cropper,   Maureen L.; Palmer,   Karen L.
Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) established a market for transferable sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission allowances among electric utilities. This market offers firms facing high marginal abatement costs the opportunity to purchase the right to emit SO2 from firms with lower costs, and is expected to yield cost savings compared to a command and control approach to environmental regulation. This paper uses econometrically estimated marginal abatement cost functions for power plants affected by Title IV of the CAAA to evaluate the performance of the SO2 allowance market. Specifically, we investigate whether the much-heralded fall in the cost of abating SO2, compared to original estimates, can be attributed to allowance trading. We demonstrate...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Acid rain; Sulfur dioxide; Air pollution; Clean Air Act; Title IV; Permit trading; Environmental Economics and Policy; H43; Q2; Q4.
Ano: 2000
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10790

Economics of Pollution Trading for SO2 and NOx
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Evans,   David A.; Krupnick,   Alan J.; Palmer,   Karen L.; Toth,   Russell.
For years economists have urged policymakers to use market-based approaches such as cap-and-trade programs or emission taxes to control pollution. The SO2 allowance market created by Title IV of the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments represents the first real test of the wisdom of economists' advice. Subsequent urban and regional applications of NOx emission allowance trading took shape in the 1990s in the United States, culminating in a second large experiment in emission trading in the eastern United States that began in 2003. This paper provides an overview of the economic rationale for emission trading and a description of the major U.S. programs for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). We evaluate these programs along measures of...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Sulfur dioxide; Nitrogen oxides; Emission trading; Power plants; Air pollution; Environmental Economics and Policy; H23; Q25; Q28; D78.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10488

Winner, Loser, or Innocent Victim? Has Renewable Energy Performed As Expected?
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: McVeigh,   James; Burtraw,   Dallas; Darmstadter,   Joel; Palmer,   Karen L.
This study provides an evaluation of the performance of five renewable energy technologies used to generate electricity: biomass, geothermal, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, and wind. We compared the actual performance of these technologies against stated projections that helped shape public policy goals over the last three decades. Our findings document a significant difference between the success of renewable technologies in penetrating the U.S. electricity generation market and in meeting cost-related goals, when compared with historic projections. In general, renewable technologies have failed to meet expectations with respect to market penetration. They have succeeded, however, in meeting or exceeding expectations with respect to their cost. To a...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Renewable energy; Regulation; Electricity generation; Energy cost; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q42; L94.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10627

An Experimental Analysis of Auctioning Emission Allowances Under a Loose Cap
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Shobe,   William; Palmer,   Karen L.; Myers,   Erica; Holt,   Charles; Goeree,   Jacob K.; Burtraw,   Dallas.
The direct sale of emission allowances by auction is an emerging characteristic of cap-and-trade programs. This study is motivated by the observation that all of the major implementations of cap-and-trade regulations for the control of air pollution have started with a generous allocation of allowances relative to recent emissions history, a situation we refer to as a “loose cap.” Typically more stringent reductions are achieved in subsequent years of a program. We use an experimental setting to investigate the effects of a loose cap environment on a variety of auction types. We find that all auction formats studied are efficient in allocating emission allowances, but auction revenues tend to be lower relative to competitive benchmarks when the cap is...
Tipo: Journal Article
Palavras-chave: Auction; Carbon dioxide; Greenhouse gases; Allowance trading; Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; RGGI; Cap and trade; Environmental Economics and Policy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.
Ano: 2010
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/90827

Electricity Restructuring and Regional Air Pollution
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Burtraw,   Dallas.
This paper investigates the regional air pollution effects that could result from new opportunities for inter-regional power transmission in the wake of more competitive electricity markets. The regional focus is important because of great regional variation in the vintage, efficiency and plant utilization rates of existing generating capacity, as well as differences in emission rates, cost of generation and electricity price. Increased competition in generation could open the door to changes in the regional profile of generation and emissions. We characterize the key determinant of changes in electricity generation and transmission as the relative cost of electricity among neighboring regions. In general, low cost regions are expected to export power...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Electricity restructuring; Transmission; Environmental Economics and Policy; L94; Q25; Q28.
Ano: 1996
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10766

Cost-Effectiveness of Renewable Electricity Policies
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Burtraw,   Dallas.
We analyze policies to promote renewable sources of electricity. A renewable portfolio standard raises electricity prices and primarily reduces gas-fired generation. A "knee" of the cost curve exists between 15% and 20% goals for 2020 in our central case, and higher natural gas prices lower the cost of greater reliance on renewables. A renewable energy production tax credit lowers electricity price at the expense of taxpayers and thus limits its effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions; it also is less cost-effective at increasing renewables than a portfolio standard. Neither policy is as cost-effective as a cap-and-trade policy for achieving carbon emissions reductions.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Renewable energy; Electricity; Renewable portfolio standard; Carbon dioxide; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q42; Q48; Q54.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10845

Air Emissions of Ammonia and Methane from Livestock Operations: Valuation and Policy Options
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Shih,   Jhih-Shyang; Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Siikamaki,   Juha.
The animal husbandry industry is a major emitter of methane, which is an important greenhouse gas. The industry is also a major emitter of ammonia, which is a precursor of fine particulate matter, arguably the number-one environment-related public health threat facing the nation. We present an integrated process model of the engineering economics of technologies to reduce methane and ammonia emissions at dairy operations in California. Three policy options are explored: greenhouse gas offset credits for methane control, particulate matter offset credits for ammonia control, and expanded net metering policies to provide revenue for the sale of electricity generated from captured methane gas. Individually, any of these policies appears to be sufficient to...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Methane; Ammonia; Carbon dioxide; Greenhouse gases; Climate change; Offset; Particulate matter; Net metering; Environmental policy; CAFO; Manure management; Biodigester; Electricity; Global warming; Cost-benefit; Incentive approach; Livestock Production/Industries; Q2; Q4; Q53.
Ano: 2006
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10749

Modeling the Costs and Environmental Benefits of Disposal Options for End-of-Life Electronic Equipment: The Case of Used Computer Monitors
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: MacAuley,   Molly K.; Palmer,   Karen L.; Shih,   Jhih-Shyang; Cline,   Sarah A.; Holsinger,   Heather.
Managing the growing quantity of used electronic equipment poses challenges for waste management officials. In this paper, we focus on a large component of the electronic waste stream— computer monitors-and the disposal concerns associated with the lead embodied in cathode ray tubes (CRTs) used in most monitors. We develop a policy simulation model of consumers- disposal options based on the costs of these options and their associated environmental impacts. For the stock of monitors disposed of in the United States in 1998, our preliminary findings suggest that bans on some disposal options would increase disposal costs from about $1 per monitor to between $3 and $20 per monitor. Policies to promote a modest amount of recycling of monitor parts, including...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: End-of-life electronics; Waste stream; Cost-benefit analysis; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q0; H8.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10901

CO2 Allowance Allocation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Effect on Electricity Investors
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Kahn,   Danny; Palmer,   Karen L.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is an effort by nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to develop a regional, mandatory, market-based cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity sector. The initiative is expected to lead to an increase in the price of electricity in the RGGI region and beyond. The implications of these changes for the value of electricity-generating assets and the market value of the firms that own them depends on the initial allocation of carbon dioxide allowances, the composition of generating assets owned by the firm, and the locations of those assets. Changes in asset values inside the RGGI region may be positive or negative, whereas changes outside of the RGGI region are almost...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Allowance allocations; Electricity; Air pollution; Auction; Grandfathering; Generation-performance standard; Output-based allocation; Cost-effectiveness; Greenhouse gases; Climate change; Global warming; Carbon dioxide; Asset value; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q25; Q4; L94.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10495

The Impact of Long-Term Generation Contracts on Valuation of Electricity Generating Assets under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Wilson,   Nathan E.; Palmer,   Karen L.; Burtraw,   Dallas.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an effort by nine states to constrain carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector using a cap-and-trade program. This paper assesses the importance of long-term electricity contracts under the program. We find that 12.2% of generation will be accounted for by long-term contracts in 2010, affecting select nuclear, hydroelectric, and cogeneration units. The contracts will have a negligible effect on the wholesale marginal cost of electricity and a small effect on retail price. States may want to consider contracts on a case-by-case basis when making decisions about the initial distribution of emission allowances, but they should account for effects on the portfolio of plants owned at the firm level, not...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Climate; State policy; Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Long-term contracts; Electricity; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q54; Q58; L14; L94.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10556

The Cost of Reducing Municipal Solid Waste
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Palmer,   Karen L.; Sigman,   Hilary; Walls,   Margaret.
This paper explores public policies for reduction of municipal solid waste. We parameterize a simple model of waste disposal using supply and demand elasticities from the economics literature and 1990 prices and quantities of recyclable and recycled materials. Using this model, we calculate the waste reduction in response to three public policies: (i) deposit/ refunds, (ii) advance disposal fees, and (iii) recycling subsidies. The results illustrate the effects of the three policies on source reduction and recycling of five recyclable materials that comprise 56 percent of municipal solid waste: aluminum, glass, paper, plastic, and steel. The calculated responses provide information about the cost of reducing municipal solid waste through various policies....
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Solid waste; Deposit/refund; Recycling subsidy; Secondary materials; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; H2.
Ano: 1996
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10898

Electricity Restructuring: Consequences and Opportunities for the Environment
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Heintzelman,   Martin.
The universal theme of deregulation of the electricity industry is the dismantling of the exclusive franchise, opening up some segments of the industry to competition. Technological changes in generation have helped eliminate the perception that generation is a natural monopoly, but this change has not occurred in transmission and distribution services. Marketing functions have also been opened up to competition in many places. This paper includes a brief overview of the different approaches to restructuring that have been adopted in selected countries around the world. It also surveys the existing literature that explores various aspects of how electricity restructuring is likely to affect the environment. The effect of restructuring on the environment...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Electricity restructuring; Air quality; Incentive-based regulation; Technological change; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q28; L51; L94.
Ano: 2000
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10854

'Second-Best' Adjustments to Externality Estimates in Electricity Planning with Competition
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Burtraw,   Dallas; Palmer,   Karen L.; Krupnick,   Alan J.
A number of state public utility commissions are using "social costing" methods to consider externalities in electricity resource planning. The most comprehensive and formal method is the use of monetary place-holders in the financial evaluation of new investments and potentially in system dispatch to reflect quantitative estimates of externality values. This approach necessarily must take existing environmental and social regulation as given. Furthermore, regulated utilities face increasing competition from electricity generators outside their service territory who may not be affected by social costing. The lack of universal and uniform social costing places PUC actions soundly in the realm of "second-best policy" and they may have unintended consequences...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Second-best; Environmental regulation; Electricity regulation; Environmental adders; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q48; L51.
Ano: 1995
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10753

Retrospective Examination of Demand-Side Energy Efficiency Policies
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Gillingham,   Kenneth; Newell,   Richard G.; Palmer,   Karen L.
Energy efficiency policies are a primary avenue for reducing carbon emissions, with potential additional benefits from improved air quality and energy security. We review literature on a broad range of existing non-transportation energy efficiency policies covering appliance standards, financial incentives, information and voluntary programs, and government energy use (building and professional codes are not included). Estimates indicate these programs are likely to have collectively saved up to 4 quads of energy annually, with appliance standards and utility demand-side management likely making up at least half these savings. Energy Star, Climate Challenge, and 1605b voluntary emissions reductions may also contribute significantly to aggregate energy...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Energy efficiency policy; Appliance standards; Information; Incentives; Voluntary programs; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q48; Q41.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10477